New Estimate Pegs Cost of Governor’s Plan to Eliminate Energy Choice at $140k Per Resident

Senator Anthony Bucco said it could cost New Jerseyans a whopping $1.4 trillion to implement Governor Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan, according to a new estimate.

Sen. Anthony Bucco said it could cost New Jerseyans a whopping $1.4 trillion to implement Gov. Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan, according to a new estimate. (©iStock)

“The $1.4 trillion cost of Governor Murphy’s extreme green energy plan is absolutely jaw dropping,” said Bucco (R-25). “That’s an extra $5,000 per year in higher costs for every New Jersey resident through 2050. It’s yet more proof that the governor’s radical plan to ban affordable energy choices for New Jersey families and businesses is completely unrealistic.”

The new cost estimate was released today by Affordable Energy for New Jersey (AENJ).

AENJ worked with economist and energy policy expert Dr. Jonathan Lesser to calculate what residents and businesses could be expected to pay under the provisions of the Murphy’s administration’s Energy Master Plan (EMP), which calls, in part, for the phase out of natural gas that currently heats 75% of New Jersey homes.

The $1.4 trillion cost that was calculated by AENJ and Dr. Lesser comes out to nearly $140,000 per resident.

Bucco warned last year that a ratepayer impact study conducted by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) ignored the huge capital costs associated with the electrification of homes, businesses, and transportation in New Jersey as called for by the governor’s energy plan.

“Governor Murphy doesn’t want the public to know the true cost of his extreme green energy plan until it’s too late,” added Bucco. “He doesn’t want you to think about the massive expense of replacing your affordable gas appliances, the higher cost of electric, or the impact on ratepayers and taxpayers of fully electrifying everything, including their cars. The governor hasn’t been transparent with people, but they deserve to know.”

With the cost of his Energy Master Plan under increasing scrutiny, Governor Murphy announced last week that public hearings on his energy plan that were set to being this month would be pushed back to “later in the year.”

Bucco responded to the delayed hearings saying, “Let’s be clear that ‘later in the year’ means after Election Day.”